California law could change Iowa farms

A new California law is likely to have repercussions on Iowa’s huge egg industry. The law, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday, will require all eggs sold in California to come from hens that have room to move, lie down and spread their wings without touching each other. That mirrors the standard set for California farmers by a ballot measure passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters in 2008.

The rules don’t take effect until 2015 but California producers already are trying to figure out what kind of housing will comply with the law. Some egg producers elsewhere think that whatever becomes the standard in California housing in California will become common elsewhere in the country. At the very least, that would mean that the battery cages that hens are now kept in on conventional farms are likely on the way out.

Iowa is the nation’s largest egg producer, and some of the eggs are shipped to California for sale. “Whatever is decided there is definitely going to have an impact” on farm practices in Iowa, said Kevin Vinchattle, executive director of the Iowa Egg Council.

What that impact is going to be is the question.

“We just have to wait and see what they think is acceptable,” he said. “It’s just like throwing a rock in a pond. It creates ripples that then go out.”

Many in the industry would like to move to a larger-style caging system that was developed in Europe to allow hens to perch and move around. But the Humane Society of the United States, which led the drive to pass the ballot measure, says it doesn’t allow any kind of caging.

“Californians have made it clear that they don’t want unsafe eggs from hens crammed into cages, and we applaud the legislature and governor for heeding this call,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society.

Iowa produced 14.5 billion eggs last year, 16 percent of the U.S. total and nearly twice as much as No. 2 Ohio. California produced 5.3 billion.